Nut deformed into locking engagement by contact with workpiece



Jan. 15, 1957 p v z'rz 2,777,495

NUT DEFORMED INTO LOCKING ENGAGEMENT BY CONTACT WITH WORKPIECE FiledJan. 9, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l JNVENTOR GEORGE PAVLINETZ,

ATTOR NEY Jan. 15, 1957 a. PAVLI TZ 2,777,495

NUT D MED INTO LO K NG EN EMENT ONTACT WITH WORKPI Filed Jan. 9, 1951 2Sheets-Sheet 2 34 JgJEZZ INVENTOR GEORGE PAVLINETZL BY ATTORNEY I meansmay define another of the rim openings.

NUT DEFORMED INTO LOCKING ENGAGE- MENT BY CONTACT WITH WORKPIECE GeorgePavliuetz, Carteret, N. J.

Application January 9, 1951, Serial No. 205,149

7 Claims. 01. 151-21 This invention relates to improved locking nutswhich are at least partially constructed from sheet metal.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a lock nut whichbecomes more and more firmly engaged with the threaded member to whichit is applied as it is driven home by virtue of what may be termed amultistage action. In developing the product, thebasic practical aspectsof simplicity and ease of manufacture, lightness in weight, andadaptability to various sizes have received primary consideration.

I With the locking nut of the present invention it is proposed toproduce a substantially uniformly distributed force about a bolt orscrew to which the nut is applied and yet permit ready removal of thenut by means of a suitable wrench and repeated reuse thereof. Thischaracteristic has been achieved by the combined eifects of resiliencyofthe material itself and the form assigned thereto by fabrication.

' a gripping surface for use in the application and removal of the nutwith respect to the threaded member for which it is intended. Thehelical edge forming means may assume the form of a plurality ofresilient elements radially disposed on one of the rims defining aplurality'of helices for engagement with opposed threaded surf-aces. Itis also contemplated that an internally threaded member be secured toone of the rims.

The helical edge forming means defining one of the rim openings mayassume the form of tongues bent from the wall intermediate the struts,and a wall may extend axially from the junction of the struts with oneof the rirhs. One of the rims may provide convergent work engagingelements deformable under strut transmitted forces to contract its axialopening and helical edge forming One .of

the 'rims may have work engaging elements each providing a fulcrumradially spaced from the ends of the struts whereby forces'transmittedby the struts increase the .ef-

fective length of such elements. One of the rims may carry work engagingelements deformable by forces transmitted through the struts havingvalues less than ,those required to deform the struts. The. rim openingsmay be defined by deformable helical edge forming elements, such edgeforming elements and the struts being sequentially deformable bycompressive forces imposed upon the struts.

In one of its aspects, the locking nut of the present Fatented Jan. 15,1957 2 invention comprises axially spaced continuous sheet metal rimscontaining substantially aligned axial openings, a substantiallyfrusto-conical sheet metal wall interconnecting the rims and integraltherewith, and bowed resilient tongues struck from the wall and havingends arranged helically for engagement with a screw. I

A more complete understanding of the invention will follow from adetailed description of the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a preferred form of nut embodying the presentinvention;

Fig. 2 is an elevation, partially in section, taken along line 2--2 ofFig. 1, depicting the nut of Fig. 1 applied to I a bolt but not yettightened;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to that of Fig. 2 depicting the nut in itstightened or locked position;

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of the nut line 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view looking at the top nut of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view looking at the bottom of the nut of Fig. 1;I

Fig. 7 is a plan view of a modifiedform of nut;

Fig. 8 is an elevation of the nut of Fig. 7, partially broken away; i

Fig. 9 is a perspective view looking at the top of a modified form oflocking nut;

Fig. 10 is an elevation, partially broken away, depicting anothermodification;

Fig. 11 is a plan view, looking at the bottom of the nut of Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a plan view depicting the top of another modification;

Fig. 13 is an elevation, partially broken away, of the modificationshown in Fig. 12; V

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary showing on an enlarged scale of portions of thenut prior to the time that it has been driven home to its lockingposition, and generally cortaken along of the responding to the showingof Fig. 2;

Fig. 19 is a fragmentary view of another modified form of serratedhelical edge applicable to any of the other figures of drawings; and

Fig. 20 is a fragmentary sectional elevation depicting the applicationof the helical edge of Fig. 19 to a threaded member.

The nut 30 depicted in Figures 1 to 6 inclusive, is a one-piece stampingformed from sheet metal having an upper rim 32 and a lower rim 34providing substantially aligned openings for the reception of a threadedbolt 36, a convergent sheet metal wall 38 containing perforations 40from which the tongues 42 projecting from the lower rim 34 have beenstruck, the remaining portions of the wall forming mutually convergingspaced yieldable and resilient struts 44 interconnecting the upper rim32 with the lower rim 34 and integral therewith.

The tongues 42 are struck from the wall 38 in a progressive arrangementso as to provide a helical edge projecting radially inwardly from therim 34 for engagement with the threads of a member such as the bolt 36to which it is applied. The rim 32, though continuous,

is provided with a slot 46 in order that its thread engaging edge 48 canbe pressed to assume a helical form, terminating in small serrations orteeth 50. Axially extending from the lower rim 34, as depicted in Figs.1 to 6 inclusive, there is a hexagonal wrench engaging surface 52 tofacilitate application and removal of the nut. The action of the nutshown in these figures when applied to a bolt 36 to clamp together apair of plates 54 and 56 will be best understood with reference to Figs.14 and 15 containing a fragmentary showing of the parts on a very muchenlarged scale. As will be clear from these figures, the tongues 42, asparticularly well shown in Fig. 14, are substantially convexly formed bythe downwardly deflected portion 58 extending from the rim 34 to anabutment 60 for initial engagement with the plate 54, whereupon thetongues are bent upwardly, though slightly downwardly bowed to define aconcave surface 62 which terminates in the thread engaging edge 64. Itwill also be noted from Fig. 14 that the inwardly directed portion ofthe rim 32 is slightly downwardly bowed to provide an upper concavesurface 66 extending to the edge 48 from which the serrations or teeth50 project for engagement with the threads of the bolt 36.0r similarmember. In its original condition as depicted in Fig. 14, the nut willbe loosely received by the threads of the bolt 36 so that 'it can beadvanced rapidly until its abutting portions 60 engage the plate 54. Asthe nut is advanced farther with respect to the bolt, as depicted inFig. 15, the lower edges of the teeth 50 resting on the upper surface ofthe thread 67 will be biased upwardly until the upper edges of theseteeth 50 engage the upper surface 68 of the thread formed on the bolt 36applying a thrust to the struts 44 which transmits the force acting as amoment about the abut- .ments 60 of the tongues 42 causing theperipheral portion of the rim 34 to approach the plate 54 and finallyseat upon it. Inasmuch as the upward movement of the ends of the tongues42 will be limited by the threads of the bolt 36, as the rim 34 movesdownwardly under the eifect of the forces transmitted by the struts, theends of the tongues 42 will move inwardly to produce a flattening of theportion 58 of each tongue as depicted in Fig. 15. Further tightening ofthe nut after the rim 34 has become thus seated, results in a downwardbowing of the struts 44 as shown in Fig. 15, so that the helicesprojecting from both the upper and lower rims will resiliently engagethe threads of the bolt 36 and the nut will effectively retain itsposition until its removal is desired. When the nut is turned to removeit from the bolt, its inherent resilience will cause it to approach itsoriginal condition so that it can be reused if desired.

The arrows appearing in Figs. 14 and 15 will assist in understanding theeffects produced during the application of a nut to the bolt. The arrows7t) depict the direction of movement of the bolt relative to the nut,the arrow 72 indicates the movement of the teeth towards the lowersurface of the thread as the nut is tightened, the arrow 74 indicatesthe reaction on the plate 54 as the rim 34 is forced downwardly, thearrow 76 indicates the direction of movement of the tongues 42 resultingfrom the application of the forces through the struts, the arrow78'indicates the direction in which the helical edge of the tongue 42moves to assume its biting relationship with the threads of the bolt 36,the arrow 80 indicates the reaction of the struts 44 as they becomebowed to act upon the rim 32, and the arrow 82 indicates the directionin which the rim 32 tends to move to drive its serrated edge into bitingengagement with the thread of the bolt 36.

The modification shown in Figs. 7 and 8 lacks the axial wall 52,terminating instead in a radial wall 84 having a plurality of slots ornotches 86 formed therein to produce an interlocking relationship with anut 88. A flange 90 provided by the nut 88 is swaged over the radialflange 84, forming projections 91 received by the notches 86, so thatthe assembly becomes for all practical purposes, unitary. In this formof the invention, it will be clear that three sets of helices willengagethe threads of a bolt, namely, those provided on the nut 88, the edgesof the tongues 42 and the edge 48. In this modification, as in others tobe described, reference characters corresponding to those employed inFigs. 1 to 6, l4 and 15, have been utilized where feasible.

The modification depicted in Fig. 9 is somewhat analogous to the showingof Fig. 5 excepting that the tongues 42 have been entirely removed, thusproviding a structure embodying only a portion of the advantages of thestructure containing the tongues.

Figs. 10 and 11 depict a further modification wherein an axial wall 92projects downwardly from the rim 34 to define a wrench engaginghexagonal surface, terminating at its lower end in inturned tongues 94having their edges 96 helically arranged to provide a third helix forengagement with the threads of the member to which the nut is applied.

Figs. 12 and 13 depict another modification somewhat along the lines ofthat shown in Figs. 10 and 11, but instead of having the downwardlydirected axial wall 92 terminate in tongues, the wall 92 in thisinstance is bent along its lower edge 98 into engagement with the outersurface of a nut 100, which cooperates with the sheet metal member toprovide a third helix for engagement with the threads of a bolt.

Under some circumstances, it will be desirable to.

provide an additional helix at the upper rim 32 instead of using theteeth or serrations 50 as depicted on an enlarged scale in Fig. 16.Under such circumstances, the rim 32 may have its inwardly projectingportion radially slit to provide downturned tongues 102 for engagementwith the lower surface 68 of the threaded member 36 and upwardlydirected tongues 104 whose lower surfaces engage the upper surface 67 ofthe threaded member. As clearly shown in Fig. 18, these upwardly anddownwardly directed tongues define a V-shaped notch which straddles thethread of the bolt 36.

Another variation has been depicted in Figs. 19 and 20 wherein a lowerset of tongues 106 define a helix in cooperation with upper tongues 108which define another helix for straddling a convolution of the threadscarried by the bolt 36. In this case, the portions of the tonguesadjacent the thread are substantially perpendicular to the axis of thebolt. This configuration permits the tongues to produce a biting actionon the threads where such an efiect is desired.

Whereas several modifications of the invention have been depicted, thevariations contemplated by applicant have been by no means exhausted bythese illustrated forms. Accordingly, since this disclosure willindicate to those skilled in the art how the invention can be furthermodified, the forms illustrated should not be construed as restrictivebeyond the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A locking nut comprising axially spaced continuous sheet metal rimscontaining substantially equal aligned axial threaded openings, aperforate sheet metal wall converging substantially throughout itslength defining mutually converging spaced yieldable strutsinterconnecting said rims and integral therewith, one of said rimsproviding convergent work engaging elements deformable under struttransmitted forces to contract its axial opening, and helical edgeforming means defining another of said rim threaded openings.

2. A locking nut as set forth in claim 1 wherein said yieldable strutsare resilient.

3. A locking nut as set forth in claim 1 wherein one of said rims isannular.

4. A locking nut as set forth in claim 1 wherein one of said rimsprovides a gripping surface.

5. A locking nut as set forth in claim 1 wherein said helical edgeforming means is resilient.

6. A locking nut as set forth in claim 1 wherein said helical edgeforming means comprises a plurality of elements radially disposed on oneof said rims.

7. A locking nut as set forth in claim 1 wherein said helical edgeforming means comprises resilient elements radially disposed on one ofsaid rims defining a plurality of helices for engagement with opposedthread surfaces.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

